Moody's Investors Service has given a provisional '(P)A3' rating to covered bonds to be issued by Turkey's Sekerbank, the agency said in a release.
The issue would launch a TL800 million ($468 million) program, which is the first of its kind from the country. THe collateral consists of SME loans.
"Turkish law provides two separate regulations, one for mortgage-backed covered bonds and the other for asset-backed covered bonds," said Moody's. "For this program, the Turkish asset-covered bonds legislation (the Turkish ACB Legislation) governs the covered bonds."
With its likely 'A3' rating and local currency denomination, it will be interesting to see whether the deal is being marketed to foreign or local investors or a mix of both.
